The subject matter disclosed herein relates to computer aided technologies (CAx) such as computer aided design, engineering, analysis and manufacture in general and apparatus, systems, means, and methods for multi-user CAx editing in particular.
Large design and engineering projects require coordination of the efforts of many designers or engineers, and efficient utilization of their efforts calls for multi-user CAx systems that allow designers and engineers to simultaneously work on a model. The terms “model of an engineering object” and “CAx model” as used herein generally refer to a set of data structures that represent the design of an object, system, or process. CAx models may include, without limitation, electronic data representing design objects such as two-dimensional objects, three-dimensional objects, and/or processes. CAx models may also include parameters, components, drawings, images, and/or specifications associated with a design object. CAx models may facilitate creation, modification, analysis, simulation, optimization, and/or manufacture of design objects. Typically, CAx models contain many hierarchical data structures. Features within parts within assemblies within the model may form a complex hierarchy of dependencies.
Existing CAx systems, however, are not well-suited to multi-user design and editing. For example, various CAx systems may have different views of the model and different, potentially incompatible, approaches to representing the hierarchy of features, parts, and assemblies within the model. A related issue is that the data hierarchy within a design model may lead to significant delays in the design and engineering process while CAx systems render views of the model.
Given the foregoing, what is needed is additional and improved systems and methods for computer-assisted design and analysis of engineering objects, in particular, systems and methods for conducting multiuser CAx operations. The embodiments disclosed herein were developed in response to these issues.